DINING.

Spring is on a roll

McClain indulges his love for Asian

When Shawn McClain ran the kitchen at four-star Trio, his food was characterized by a subtlety that eschewed big flavors in favor of harmonious, deeply complex dishes.

Spring, McClain's solo effort that opened in June on the Wicker Park-Bucktown border, delivers more of the same, though with a difference. Here, McClain's love for all things Asian is unfettered, as is his strong preference for seafood and vegetables. I noted just five meat elements on Spring's entire menu, and that's counting the coppicola wrapped around McClain's grilled-prawns entree.

Spring is housed in the old North Avenue Bathhouse -- specifically, in the below-street-level space that once held the swimming pools. One enters through frosted-glass doors to a reception area outfitted with a zen garden; a slate pathway leads to and through the curvy bar, with a wall of white glazed tile that's a remnant from the bathhouse days. Beyond this is the dining room, with its soothing palette of light green, eggplant and warm tan, illuminated by light boxes and fabric-diffused ceiling fixtures. Free-standing tables line the outer walls; angled leather banquettes zig-zag through the center of the room. Rich white tablecloths are topped with crystal stemware and silver flatware.

It's a very ambitious enterprise for the area; Bucktown-Wicker Park has no shortage of excellent restaurants, but moderate pricing is practically a local ordinance. McClain has done his best to fit in, keeping his prices exceedingly modest (entrees, for instance, are all in the low-$20s, except for the $25 beef tenderloin). Given the quality I found here, I wonder how long McClain will be able to hold prices this low.

First to the table is a complimentary nibble, probably a slice of spring roll wrapped around barely cooked tuna, with a dribble of Thai chile sauce. The regular menu has a spring roll too, containing firm pieces of Maine lobster over an intriguing, curry-accented passionfruit sauce.

Tuna shows up in another guise, this time as part of a deconstructed nicoise salad consisting of crispy nuggets of wonton-wrapped tuna alongside Italian white anchovies, with greens and haricots verts. The dressing is a non-traditional coriander-olive vinaigrette, which works brilliantly; a garnish of hard-boiled egg adds vivid color. Oysters, almost always from Washington State, receive star treatment, dressed with a splash of mignonette and a hint of chile oil and served with fresh wasabi and flying-fish caviar.

Some menu changes in a restaurant's first weeks are inevitable, but already I miss the hamachi tartare, a glorious array of raw yellowtail in a complex dressing with hints of citrus; it has been replaced with a more pedestrian, and affordable, salmon tartare, with a Hawaiian poke-style marinade.

A hefty softshell crab arrives swimming in a hot and sour prawn broth; the softshell season is just about over, but the fragrant broth should have an after-life on Spring's soup selection, joining such impressive companions as the coconut-lemongrass soup, with cellophane noodles and red Thai curry, and the farewell-to-summer soup of chilled cucumber and tomato, thickened with avocado and saffron creme fraiche.

McClain extends his Asian influence to embrace Middle Eastern flavors in several of his entrees. Noteworthy examples include firm red grouper over couscous laced with preserved lemon and served with a spicy fennel salad, and a straightforward dish of coppicola-wrapped grilled prawns with artichoke tabbouleh and a parsley-chive emulsion. Then it's back to Asia with salmon, wrapped in nori and a thin crispy potato layer and sliced maki-style, and a vegetarian eggplant dish seasoned with Indian spices and topped with tempura-fried squash blossoms.

You wouldn't think that plain old cod would merit much attention on a menu like this, but McClain is getting hold of some beauties, presenting the flaky fish with chanterelle mushrooms, summer squash and a light sweet-pea emulsion. Fanned slices of dense, full-flavored scallops lie on a stringy bed of slow-cooked oxtail, along with wild mushrooms that pick up a little tang from a sweet soy glaze. And very good Pacific halibut is nearly upstaged by its partner, a soft pile of lobster mashed potatoes.

Come dessert time, expect playful twists on familiar creations. There's a fine panna cotta, flavored with kaffir lime and preserved lemon and layered with crisp macadamia-nut tuiles, surrounded by lilakoi sauce (which is the Hawaiian word for passionfruit). There's coconut mochi brulee, which is a sort of combination of a sweetened Japanese rice pudding with a creme brulee-style caramelized-sugar topping. A fabulous bittersweet chocolate cake comes with fennel ice cream, preserved orange peel, warmed yuzu (a Japanese citrus) and a honeycomb-shaped sheet of tempered chocolate. And the chocolate dome consists of milk-chocolate mousse and flourless cake on a chocolate-almond disk, encased in chocolate ganache and surrounded by foamed almond milk.